The Lion King: If Only
by TLKGuru12
Summary: The Circle of Life continues as the next generation of Pridelanders get ready to take the throne. Join Nyota, Simba's second daughter and her cousins, Samunika and Musan, along with their friends as they uncover prophecies and discover hidden truths that shake the Pridelands to it's very core.
1. Chapter 1: As Normal As It Gets

**Author's Note: Hey guys! This is not my first fanfiction story, but I'll try to make this my first FULL story. If you missed TLK: To Be A Leader and Butterfly Warriors, just ask me, and I'll try to post them. I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>The wind brushed across Nyota's face as the sun rose in front of Pride Rock. The morning had begun. All was quiet. The grasses were swept with a gentle breeze and the sky was heavy with clouds. The sun poked out from behind the clouds and the savannah was getting ready for a new day. Suddenly, she heard the sound of wings flapping.<p>

"Good morning Nyota!" An unmistakably cheerful voice called out in the middle of the silence.

"Good morning Zazu," Nyota replied sweetly, secretly wishing Zazu would fly off and bother someone else. This was her time, her quiet time.

"And how is the young princess doing today?"

"Fine Zazu, just fine," Nyota said, remembering advice from her father on how to handle Zazu. Simba had told her that when you wanted to get rid of Zazu, give him something to do. "Zazu, why don't you go check on the herds for father and maybe report the status back to him?"

"Oh, don't worry Nyota, I've already done that. Your father is _well_ aware of the herds present state."

Nyota forced a smile, muttering under her breath "_of course you did"_ and tried to think of another excuse to get Zazu to leave.

"Well, then why don't you check the happenings at the waterhole? Surely something must have changed there?"

"I would princess, but I've already reported to Simba that the waterhole is doing just fine. Nothing but the usual skirmishes and misunderstandings." A small smile began to creep up his beak as Zazu grinned to himself for his immaculate efficiency.

Nyota growled silently, and thought carefully about what she would say next.

"Maybe you could-"

"Zazu, why don't you go scout the borders of the Outlands? I think that Simba told me that one of the elephants said that the zebras have spotted some meerkats conversing with hyenas." A deep voice smoothly cut in.

Zazu's eyes widened as he saw Nyota's brother-in-law Kovu stepping sleepily out from the den.

"He did? Why those ruffians-" He fidgeted when he realized he was given a direct order by the prince. "Right away Master Kovu!" Zazu sputtered as he fluttered off, attempting to find the source of the crime. Nyota giggled. When Kovu had first arrived, Zazu was hardly welcoming, much less obedient. He'd muttered words like "Outsider" and "He doesn't belong here" under his breath whenever Kovu was around, or so Nyota had heard.

But now, Zazu obeyed Kovu's every command, addressing him as king, even though he wasn't. Her father was still high king of Pride Rock, and loving it.

Kovu smiled as he settled next to her, admiring the view of Pride Rock from the promontory.

"Thanks," Nyota smiled gratefully.

"Hey, Zazu wanted something to do, and I just gave him a job."

They sat together, a cub and an adult lion, watching the sunrise. Nyota sighed contentedly. This was the life. A princess has no chores, but she still had to prepare for being a queen one day, with boring lessons and elaborately boring speeches.

Luckily, Nyota was not the princess. In fact, she was fifth in line for the throne, and therefore really didn't need lessons. But that didn't mean her father didn't stop every day to take time and teach her a few things she would need to know if something _did _happen.

After a few moments of silence, Nyota asked the ten-dollar-question-of-the-day.

"There really were no hyenas conversing with cheetahs as seen by zebras and gossiped about by the elephants, right?"

Kovu smirked and got up, starting to walk back to the den.

"You got me. It was meerkats, not cheetahs. " He glanced at the sun one more time before stepping into the den "Well, I better go wake up Kiara, you know how much she hates sleeping in. 'Says she wastes the day by sleeping"

Nyota giggled, imagining her grumpy sister yell at Kovu for not waking her up in time. Kovu may have had the mane (and an expertly styled one at that), but Kiara was definitely the boss in the couple.

"Yet she still does it anyway." Nyota squinted at the patch of blue feathers flying off into the Outlands at a distance. "And I better go get Zazu before he really _does_ get eaten by hyenas." She sighed. What better way to spend a morning than hunting down a hornbill?

Nyota hopped down the stones leading to the ground, her eyes scanning the grassy plains for anything resembling blue and white feathers. To her dismay, she found nothing, except signs of the awakening Pride Lands. She followed Zazu's trail until she came upon the Outlands. Nyota stopped. He had gone into the Outlands.

Her legs shook, her father had warned her about the Outlands. Heck, even Kovu, who'd _grown up_ in the Outlands told her to stay away from the place.

Nyota harrumphed, it wasn't fair. She was born after all the _interesting _things happened on Pride Rock.

Nyota was born after Simba had dramatically triumphed over Scar (or so he'd told her) and after Kiara's birth, and after she met Kovu, and after they fell in love, _and_ after the fight with the Outlanders, and after _everything_.

Nyota started backing away from the Outlands, telling herself that Zazu could be elsewhere, maybe back at Pride Rock even, reporting to Simba that he hadn't seen anything.

She sniffed the air again. No, he definitely had to still be in the Outlands. Her heart thudded within her chest. Suddenly, Nyota heard a yelp that sounded suspiciously like Zazu. In seconds, Nyota was on high alert, stepping lightly onto the Outland's termite infested soil.

She was on such high alert that she didn't even notice that she was being pummeled to the ground until her legs met sandy dirt. All of a sudden she couldn't breathe, something was wedged tightly in her mouth. Nyota struggled for a moment and then spat, and out spilled Zazu, covered in spit. He groaned something she couldn't understand and quickly regained his posture, his eyes wide open.

"What Zazu-what is it?" Nyota asked frightfully. And to her horror, Zazu's face was contorted into a twisted smile of pure fear. He opened his beak to speak but was instantly cut off by the sound of hideous cackles, resounding off the elephant bones scattered around the place.

Hyenas. Nyota shuddered. She had heard horrid tales of how they ripped her father's Uncle Scar to pieces, and how they killed for fun, and had to respect for the Circle of Life.

Nyota didn't think it was possible, but Zazu's eyes bulged even more.

"Hyenas! Master Kovu and Master Simba were right!" he panted, his wings flapping fearfully.

She quickly got up on her feet, and scanned her surroundings, looking for anything to hide behind.

"It's no use princess, they've already seen me. They know we're here." Zazu screeched, flying faster than his wings could carry him. Nyota followed him in suit, stumbling over her paws. Suddenly she stopped in realization.

"Hyenas are in the canine family, right?"

Zazu's face drew a horrified expression.

"They have our scent." He whispered, as if saying them out loud might make them untrue. Nyota looked around for anything, anything that could disguise their scent. She sighed, nothing grew in the Outlands. There was no water. Only termites.

Suddenly, she spotted bush with a giant flower, an idea forming in her head.

"A midnight cereus plant." Nyota whispered in awe. "They're some sort of cactus, and they only bloom in the night, once in a lifetime. Then they bake when the morning sun comes up." Zazu shot her a confused look.

"Then why is it blooming now?"

"I don't know, but thank the kings it is. We can use the flower's scent to mask _our _scent. The hyenas will never find us." Nyota smiled giddily, running quickly to the flower. She tore off the petals and rubbed them all over herself. Zazu did the same.

Soon, when all she could smell were flowers, she hid the petals. No hyena had to know that they had been picking flowers.

Suddenly, she heard voices. Zazu jumped unexpectedly and Nyota climbed up on a high rock, hidden among others. She couldn't see what was happening, but she recognized the voices as hyenas.

"Hey Henna, where'd they go?"

"I don't know Benzi, I lost their trail. Now all I smell is disgusting flowers" Then, there was silence.

"How'd you know there was someone else with the bird?"

"'Cause I smelt them, you idiot. A talent you lack."

"Are you sure it was a lion?"

"I ain't _lion_, I'm telling the truth."

A series of chortles followed after. Nyota rolled her eyes. _What a bad joke_.

"Hey Henna-where's Fred?" A deranged giggle sounded from below.

"Fred! Where were you?" A whimper sounded as Nyota heard frantic snuffles.

"What? You're affirmative?

Nyota pawed at the rock in front of her. If only she could make a peephole she could see what was going on. One well placed knock later, she had a small hole in which she could look through. She gagged at what she saw. Boy, hyenas were _ugly_.

Nyota watched in horror as the one with the weird smile-the one they called Fred, peeled back a leaf and saw the crushed cereus petals strewn upon the ground-_her _crushed petals, the ones she used to disguise her scent.

"Ha! Did they really think leaving us presents would make them stop chasing them? Nuh-uh. These are pretty lousy gifts though. I mean, why'd I want crushed flower petals?"

"Yeah, I'd do anything for a lion fur rug and a mane ottoman right about now."

Nyota suppressed a sigh of relief, as the hyenas moved on. So she hadn't blown their cover after all. She silently snickered. The hyenas thought she'd left them a _present_ so they'd stop chasing her? Suddenly, Nyota realized something. Where was Zazu?

"Pardon me princess, but _get off_!" She jumped as Zazu flew out from underneath her with a loud grunt. Oops. It looked like she'd been sitting on him.

"Sorry Zazu," Nyota muttered sheepishly. Zazu harrumphed and flew into the air, flying back to the Pride Lands. Nyota followed in suit, gulping as she realized she had just been to the Outlands. And she'd just outwitted hyenas (not that that wasn't uncommon).

What was she going to tell her father?


	2. Chapter 2: A Sight Not To Be Seen

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I like to keep updates often, well as often as I finish a chapter. Please review if you liked the story, I love to read reviews, and they always motivate me to write faster. I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>In a field quite far off from Pride Rock, Samunika was waiting. She tensed as she heard the grass slightly rustling and as hushed pawsteps echoed through the air. All of a sudden, Samunika ducked as her brother Musan barreled over her head.<p>

She laughed contentedly. She always heard her brother pounce.

"Very good Samunika," Nala, her grandmother laughed. "Musan, try using lighter pawsteps next time."

Samunika giggled as Musan grumbled something under his breath.

"What was that Musan?" Samunika teased. Her brother flashed her a charming yet sarcastic smile, sticking his tongue out at her. Samunika rolled her eyes.

Just as a brown-tufted, gold-furred, turquoise-eyed cub, Musan was already very handsome. Well, not to _her_, or her cousin Nyota; but to all the other lion cub girls, Musan was the talk of the pride. Samunika gagged a little inside.

"I think that's enough for today. Why don't we head back?" Nala asked. Musan shrugged and Samunika happily nodded. Enough training today. She couldn't wait to head back to Pride Rock and hang out with Nyota.

Although Samunika envied Nyota, it wasn't hard to be friends with her. And since they were cousins, friendship blossomed early.

Samunika sighed. Nyota had it all. She was _beautiful_. Nyota had a glossy gold coat, and while gold coats were common among Pridelanders, her coat just had something that just attracted people. Maybe it was the fact that although Pridelanders had nice-enough coats, Nyota's looked so different, so shiny, so _foreign_.

Simba (Nyota's father, and Samunika and Musan's grandfather) had explained to them that his grandfather, Ahadi, a lion from another pride, had the same coat color. Nyota also had the most gorgeous green eyes, also which had belonged to Simba's uncle Scar.

Even Musan, who paid least attention to how any lion looked, had to admit Nyota was beautiful. But, not only was Nyota beautiful, she had no responsibilities.

Since she was fifth in line for the throne, _she_ didn't have to go through boring royal history lessons or behave politely and never speak out of turn. But, even though Nyota didn't have to be a perfect royal, somehow, just as a second nature, she always was. She was even kind to _Zazu_.

"Hey, Sa-loony-ka, hurry up!" Musan called. Samunika snapped out of her thoughts and growled at the nickname. She looked up and saw Nala and Musan walking well aways ahead of her. She ran to catch up with them.

"Wait up!" she cried until she walked par with her grandmother and brother. Nala smiled at her.

"What were you doing back there, Samunika?"

Samunika shrugged.

"Thinking." She wasn't in the mood to talk at the moment.

"Keep thinking so hard and you might pop a blood vessel," Musan smirked in front of her. With a jolt, she realized she'd fallen behind. _Again_.

Samunika grumbled and ran ahead of them. She knew she was being moody, but it was impossible to think if you were continually being reminded to move.

When she finally spotted Pride Rock in the distance, Samunika perked up. And slowed down again, lost in her thoughts.

Samunika wondered Nyota couldn't come to hunting lessons or royal protocol speeches with Zazu. Nala had explained that her daughter wasn't feeling well today, but that was the same excuse she had given Samunika everyday she asked her since the start of training. Which, admittedly, was yesterday.

"Are you going to continuously slow us down by sitting there staring at the clouds and picking at the grass, or are you going to hurry up?" Musan grumbled as she realized both him and Nala were quite ahead of her. She flushed pink, and ran to catch up with them.

"Sorry Nala," Samunika said meekly, while giving her brother a death stare, which he ignored by looking the other way. She pouted. What a waste of a perfectly good death stare.

All of a sudden, her attention was pulled away to a passing butterfly, fluttering from clumps of wildflowers to another. Before she knew it, she was distracted again, soaring deeper into her thoughts.

She stared at Musan and Nala's retreating figures, not entirely processing what was going on. Samunika watched as Musan's brown-tufted tail swing like a pendulum, back and forth, back and forth. Wait!

Her sharp eyes saw something twitch behind a rock. Startled, Samunika stammered in a frightened voice:

"Wh-who's there?" When nothing answered, she peered behind the rock, and silently screamed.

Behind the rock, were three, very small hyena cubs, barely a day old. They had mottled gray-blue skin and an innocently evil look burned into their hideous yellow eyes.

Samunika felt utter disgust toward them. Hyenas, what a waste of a perfectly good creature. But something made her heart twist inside her.

They were so small, so tiny, and looked as if they hadn't eaten in days. Who would leave them out like this, especially in Prideland territory? The smallest hyena whimpered and Samunika took a step back. What could she do? What _should_ she do?

With a thick puddle of guilt and hopelessness pooling in her stomach, Samunika ran back onto the path, promising to do something later.

Suddenly, all she could see were eyes. Dark, turquoise eyes, reminding her of the hyena cubs, boring into her very brain, stealing her very soul.

"Ah!" she screamed, jumping back, trying to erase the seared image from her brain.

"It's just me, Loonyka." Musan mumbled, giving her a particularly odd look. "Why do you keep standing there, staring into space like a deranged meerkat?"

"Heh. I was just admiring the scenery," she weakly joked. She still had the image of the three hyena cubs bored into her brain.

Musan sighed, and ran to catch up with Nala. This time, Samunika ran alongside him, not even thinking of looking back.

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><p>Musan took a mere step forward. He silently groaned as he heard a slight rustle of grass underneath his foot. Too late, Samunika had heard him, and he saw her tense up. <em>Well, it's now or never<em> Musan thought as he sloppily pounced on his sister, missing by a few feet.

His cheeks glowed red, but he didn't let anyone see. What would they think if they saw him blushing? He heard his sister laughing and he smiled at her, although in his mind, it felt like more of a smirk.

He also heard his grandmother compliment his sister and correct him, but as usual, he chose not to listen.

You see, Musan had very good hearing. As of right now, he could hear every blade of grass being crunched as his sister got up from her low to-be-pounced-on position. But listening was a different story.

Musan never listened. It wasn't that he couldn't. It was that _he chose not to_. Why was it his problem if hyenas invaded the Pride Lands? Why was it his problem if the water hole ran dry? And most of all, _why was it his problem if the hippos had hernias_?!

Listening to lions (and birds alike) was a waste of time.

"I think that's enough for today. Why don't we head back?" Nala asked. Musan shrugged and Samunika happily nodded. _What a kiss-up_. Musan thought.

That was so like his sister. She was always trying to make sure grown-ups just _loved_ her. And in a way, he got why.

Samunika was majorly jealous of their cousin Nyota. She was gorgeous and Samunika was well-average. She was polite and Samunika was rude. Nyota was happy, Samunika; burdened. Nyota was naturally a perfect royal, and Samunika had to work hard to be a _meh_ royal.

And most of all, Nyota lived a life free of responsibilities and expectations while Samunika had to forever live with the daunting task of becoming queen.

Musan always shrugged away Samunika's worries, he was fourth in line for the throne, but because he was Samunika's younger twin, he was expected to take all the royal lessons she did.

Suddenly, Musan realized Samunika was not walking with him and Nala. He turned around and spotted her a few feet back, staring at the sky. He rolled his eyes.

"Should I go get her Nala?" Musan asked. He was always nice to adults, that was _his_ second nature, although 90% of the time, he tuned them out.

"If you must," Nala said, although her eyes were laughing. He rolled his eyes at the very thought of going to retrieve his sister because she was doing what she did best: spacing out.

"Hey, Sa-loony-ka, hurry up!" He snicked at the nickname he used for her. Musan knew Samunika hated it, but he did it nonetheless. Did that make him sadistic?

"Wait up!" Samunika cried until she walked par with her grandmother and himself. Nala smiled at her.

"What were you doing back there, Samunika?"

Samunika shrugged.

"Thinking."

"Keep thinking so hard and you might pop a blood vessel," Musan smirked. This is what he lived for. To perpetually annoy his sister. What a glorious life.

With that, she stormed off ahead of them. Huh. Storming off moodily was usually _his_ job. What was up with Samunika?

Then again, what was up with Nala? Ever since training had started yesterday, Nala had never even invited Nyota, nor had she even glanced at her throughout the day, and whenever she did, she looked guilty.

Musan internally shrugged, he didn't care and it wasn't his problem. Maybe Nyota was really sick just like Nala had said, but who cared?

Well, Samunika cared. She had even invited him to "play detective" with her to figure out what was going on. Musan had scoffed at her, told her that he was "too old" for that sort of game, and told her to go away.

And did he feel guilty about it? No sir, he didn't. Well maybe a little. But it wasn't really guilt. It was more like his conscience was annoying him, or something like that.

Speaking, well more accurately, thinking of Samunika, where was she? He could swear she was walking right in front of him and Nala.

Musan painstakingly looked behind him, and there she was, farther back this time, sitting down, her eyes void of emotion. Without bother to ask Nala, he grumbled:

"Are you going to continuously slow us down by sitting there staring at the clouds and picking at the grass, or are you going to hurry up?" He smirked when she blushed.

Unlike him, Samunika liked to show her emotions the second she felt them, and embarrassment was no different.

As she raced up, Samunika muttered a hasty apology to Nala.

"Sorry Nala," Samunika said meekly. She tried to give him what she called her "death stare". He just looked the opposite direction. Not because her death stare was _oh so scary _but because it was _oh so dumb_.

Mainly, it looked like she was trying to suck all the air into her empty brain and at the same time was trying to escort her eyeballs out of her head in a timely fashion before her _head exploded_. As said before, _it looked dumb_.

Suddenly, Musan felt himself trip forward, quickly paying his respects to the ground. He looked at Nala swiftly avoiding a rock, the rock in which he had just tripped on. Nala seemed not to have noticed his, fall, she seemed . . . preoccupied.

With a bitter laugh, he hoisted himself up, praying that Samunika hadn't seen him fall. But what were the chances of her not seeing him? After all, she was right behind him . . . right?

He sighed, Loonyka was very, very far behind them. Them? Or maybe just him. Nala, who had seemed to have already forgotten about him and Samunika was already within the lush fields of Pride Rock.

That was strange. His grandmother was usually kind and loving, but nowadays she seemed distracted and jumpy.

Musan looked towards Nala and Samunika. Who should he follow?

Suddenly, he noticed Samunika looked like she'd seen a ghost. With that, he rushed over to her.

As he got closer, she didn't even acknowledge his presence, she was still staring with blank eyes and her mouth curved into a frightened frown.

He got up close, his turquoise eyes boring into her purple ones. Musan shifted his weight, trying to evoke some kind of acknowledgement.

All of a sudden, Samunika screamed. It wasn't her usual, girly scream. This scream was more like a scream of pure terror. Musan jumped back, slightly scared because of her reaction.

"It's just me, Loonyka." He said as she shook her head, as if trying to relieve her head of some kind of image. "Why do you keep standing there, staring into space like a deranged meerkat?" Musan asked, giving her an odd look.

He didn't give her an odd look and came to her when she screamed because he _cared_ about her, Musan told himself.

He came because well, she screamed and he wanted to know what the commotion was about. He also came because he was getting tired of constantly reminding Samunika to keep moving. Musan deemed this as a credible excuse.

"Heh. I was just admiring the scenery," she sputtered. Musan raised an eyebrow. All he saw were plains upon plains of grass. And the occasional rock. And a baobab tree. Oh, and the plains of grass.

He didn't think about her odd behavior as much and scampered back to Nala, surprised to see that his sister was actually following him.


	3. Chapter 3: A Quiet Revelation

**Author's Note: Hi guys this is kind of an early update, but I had a lot time on my hands today. Hope you enjoy, and as always, please review! :)**

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><p>"Aw man, did the high and mighty Annoyota get in trouble today?" Nyota heard Musan snicker from behind her. She growled inwardly as she saw Musan and Samunika bounding toward her, finished with their royal lessons training.<p>

Well, Samunika was bounding. Musan was walking his usual lanky, lazy pace, as if even thinking about moving bored him.

"Shut up Musan. It's not her fault she had to find Zazu." Samunika chided him. She looked at Nyota with pitiful eyes.

"We heard what happened Nyota. We ALL heard what happened." Her eyes glazed over and Nyota really thought Samunika was going to cry. She silently grumbled.

If anyone should be crying, it should be _her_. After all, it wasn't _Samunika's_ father who had yelled at her for going into the Outlands without telling anybody.

It wasn't _Samunika's _father who had recently been ignoring her, and seemed more and more distant with each passing day.

It wasn't _Samunika's _father who all, her life had been teaching her the wrong thing, so that even now, she couldn't easily decipher right from wrong.

She sighed as she remembered what had transpired just a few hours ago.

_Nyota bounded up Pride Rock, hoping to pretend nothing had happened. As she got closer, she realized that someone had walled in the den. There was no way in or out._

_She gulped when she realized that that was no ordinary wall. It was _her father. _His normally smiling features were set into a thin grim line, and his usually warm eyes were filled with angry fire. _

_Instead of her usual bound, Nyota sauntered up the rock, shamefaced, once she saw her father._

_When she reached her father, Nyota bowed her head in shame. There was no use pretending she hadn't been in the Outlands. She had already seen Zazu telling Simba about their little endeavour. _

"_Where were you Nyota?" Simba asked, his words clipped. She took a step back. Her father had never spoke to her like this before. When she wasn't able to answer, Simba slightly growled. _

_He started pacing, right there on Pride Rock. Nyota shivered. Was it just her, or had the air suddenly grown colder? Maybe it was just the distant glare her father gave her. _

_Simba's eyes bore into her, her jade green mixing with his burnt orange. Within that moment, he looked frightened, as if he was reliving a distant memory, just by looking into her eyes. _

_She stopped breathing for a moment. Her eyes. Her emerald eyes reminded her father of the eyes Kovu said that Scar had. Nyota reminded him of Scar. _

"_Nyota," he started slowly. "Why were in the Outlands?" His voice was calm, but his voice rose as he said the word 'Outlands'. _

_If it was possible to look more embarrassed than she already was, Nyota succeeded._

"_I'm sorry Daddy-" She stopped when Simba looked uncomfortable when she called him 'Daddy'. _

"_-Father, I mean father. I know you told me not to go, but-but I had to rescue Zazu." Nyota scowled at her lame excuse. Even she knew he wouldn't believe her._

"_What have I told you Nyota, a perfect princess does not go back to help someone when they are in trouble." Simba said, his voice monotone. What? What kind of advice was that? _

_She saw her sister, who sat behind her father scowl. At her father, not her. _

"_Daddy, you always told me a perfect princess always goes back and helps those in need. You taught me to put others first!" Kiara said, her voice unsure. Nyota sadly noticed Simba didn't even flinch when Kiara called her "daddy"._

_Her father gave Kiara a glare that should have melted stone, but instead Kiara glared back with a gaze even more intense. _

"_What have you done with her father? Why aren't you teaching Nyota the ways of the lands? About the Circle of Life?" Kiara whispered, in a voice that sounded like she was supposed to be yelling._

_The Circle of Life? Although Nyota knew her sister referenced the Circle many times, she had no idea what it meant. _Her father had never taught her, _she realized sadly._

"_You are in no position to teach me," Simba growled. Kiara snorted._

"_Oh really, father? Who was it that reminded you that "we are one"? Who was it that had to help uncloud your head with thoughts of hate toward the Outlanders? Tell me father, _who was it_?" _

_Nyota had also heard _this _story multiple times, the story of Kovu and Kiara falling in love, but always from Kovu or Kiara, never from her father. Or her mother, for that matter. _

_Simba looked taken aback for a moment, but then his eyes clouded over with anger._

"_Remember where your place is Kiara," He growled. Kiara looked hurt. Nyota was stunned. Was her father threatening Kiara? Even Simba looked surprised with himself. _

_Kiara, angered and hurt, flicked her tail and stomped away. All the anger relinquished from Simba's eyes as he turned to look at Kiara leaving, and then at Nyota. _

"_Nyota, I'm so sorr-" He began, but Nyota didn't have the heart to listen to him. Tears ran freely from her eyes as she ran off, all while her father called out to her, groveling with apologies. _

_She didn't know or how or far she ran. Since she was a just a cub, she knew it couldn't have been far, but she didn't have the confidence to look back at Pride Rock disappearing from view._

_At last, Nyota came to a grassy field, not far from Pride Rock. It looked just like all the plains in the Pride Lands. All she saw were plains upon plains of grass. And the occasional rock. Oh, and more plains of grass. The landscape was quite varied. _

_When she finally was out of breath and adrenaline, Nyota stopped. She looked around, making sure nobody was there, and sat underneath a tall baobab tree. And with that, she started sobbing. She cried out all the hurt and pain and guilt that had been bubbling and brewing inside her._

_Nyota had never cried before. Her father had told her "A perfect princess never cries or shows any kind of emotion. It is considered demeaning and distracts her from doing what she pleases." _

_This time, instead of trying to follow her father's advice, she attempted her sister's. Her sister had told her a similar-ish piece of advice. "When you feel like crying, do it, because otherwise it will become bottled up inside you. When just enough sadness bottles up inside you, you become a shadow of yourself. A piece of the wind." _

_Nyota had shivered when her sister had told her that. It completely contradicted everything her father taught her. This time, Kiara's advice made her feel warm inside, like a ray of sunlight in a very cold world. _

_Of course, Kiara had followed up her advice with "Of course, if someone DOES make you sad, tell me or Kovu. Or maybe father. We'll get 'em back for you. If it's someone small and stupid who made you sad, get Timon or Pumbaa, they'll handle it."_

_Nyota sighed. Kiara already _had "_gotten the person who made her sad back". She had witnessed the whole thing. _

_Well now she couldn't follow her sister's advice, it was already used up. So she followed up on Kovu's advice. Kovu had told her "When you feel mad or sad at someone, remember something happy you did with them, something that made you feel glad. It always helps." _

_Kovu had often used his own advice whenever he thought of him mother, Zira. Maybe Nyota could use it on her father. _

_She laid on the ground, her head resting on her paws. She closed her eyes and tried to remember a good time with her father. _

_Many moments later, after going through her memories, Nyota decided she could not remember a single time her father had not been distant with her._

_All her life, Simba had kept a distance from her, procrastinating on her training and dismissing all her lessons. All her life, Nyota had chosen to believe that as King, he was busy and had more important things to do. _

_Now, Nyota noticed a pattern. Nala had always had time for Samunika and Musan's training, never hers. Simba was always lounging around when he said he couldn't teach her. And when he did teach her, his teachings never made sense. _

_She sat up in realization, bonking her head on the trees branches. Rubbing her head, Nyota realized that _all she knew from being a royal was from Kovu and Kiara_. She had watched them all her life, noticing how everything they did contradicted her father's teachings and how even _he _didn't live in his own words._

_That's what confused Nyota. Her father had no problem living opposite to his ways and got angry at Kiara whenever she listened to him teaching Nyota; but when Nyota was ever pleasant or helpful, he got angry at _her.

_Was it possible that Simba wanted Nyota to fail as a princess? She shook her head. Her father may have decided she wasn't good enough for the royal laws, but he'd never want her to _fail_._

_Right?_

"-and then he was like all 'You have no right to teach me and-' Nyota are you even listening?" Samunika's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Nyota had no idea why Samunika was re-telling her everything that had just happened as if Nyota hadn't witnessed it herself.

"Huh? Oh, yeah Samunika, I was totally paying attention." Samunika frowned when she saw that Nyota was in fact, _not _paying attention. Nyota heard Musan snicker. Nyota imagined herself rolling her eyes.

Despite being third in line for the throne, Samunika liked to pretend she was next in line, and everyone deserved to listen to her. Therefore, having someone roll her eyes at her was _not_ an option.

The good thing was, Samunika was _also_ easily distracted, and Nyota knew she would move on to the next topic before Nyota could even blink.

"So what do you think we should do today?" Samunika asked. This time, Nyota had to roll her eyes. After all they'd been through today, Samunika still couldn't admit that they had already had enough excitement for one day.

"I don't know, what do _you _think we should do today?" Nyota said testily. She gasped to herself. Were princesses supposed to answer questions testily? Maybe her father's teaching were rubbing off after all.

To her utter surprise, Samunika did not take the bait.

"Maybe we should go to the water hole? We could mess around with the elephants." Nyota glanced at the afternoon sun. She knew elephants were only at the water hole from dawn to mid-morning, they wouldn't be there during the afternoon.

"I have an idea," Musan slyly cut in. Nyota didn't like the tone of voice he was using. Whenever he used that sneaky voice, they always ended up in trouble. And she had already had enough trouble for one day. Maybe even for the rest of the week. Or the moon.

"We should go to the Outlands again. See if those hyenas want a rematch." He continued, with his snarky voice. Nyota shivered in fear, and partially in angry.

"There was no fight Musan," she said through gritted teeth. "They barely knew we were there."

"And, they would tear us into pieces before we even said 'Good day hyenas, would you like three young cubs for dinner? Yes? Okay, well then, here we are!'" Samunika added. "You always have the lamest and dumbest ideas Musan."

Musan looked hurt for a moment, but his hurt was concealed and he took up by a stony expression.

"I do my best," He said, deadpan.

"Don't flatter yourself," Samunika growled. Nyota felt bad for a minute. She knew Musan always tried to seem emotionless and tried not to care, but he had Kovu's heart. No matter what thoughts rushed through his brain, he always cared.

There was silence in the air. To break the tension, Nyota uneasily contributed an idea to the mix.

"Why don't we play Truth or Dare?" Musan's eyes lit up with the suggestion. Nyota gulped. He had, no doubt thought of torturous dares to try on them. Samunika looked bored but agreed.

"Sure."

"I'll go fir-" Nyota started but was cut off by Musan.

"No, I'll go first," He said, his smirk lighting up his face. Samunika growled and gave him what she called her 'death stare'. Nyota giggled a little. She really didn't know why Samunika ever gave _anyone_ her 'death stare'. It was really kind of funny, the way she looked.

Her purple eyes bulged out and her cheeks puffed and it kind of made her look like an angry chipmunk.

Musan just snickered.

"Okay. I chose..." His eyes scanned both Nyota and Samunika.

"...Samunika!" Samunika looked appalled. And terrified.

"Truth or dare Samunika?" Musan asked, rather menacingly. Samunika shivered before she whispered:

"Truth."

Nyota sighed in relief. She grinned at Samunika. Better take the safe way out than the brave way. You didn't have to a mind reader to assume that Musan had millions of terrible dares in store. Then again, you also never knew what kind of terrible truth questions Musan had in store either.

"Are you sure, Loonyka?" Samunika nodded. Musan smirked,

"Alright, admit that you think Jadon is hot!" Samunika blushed. Nyota grinned. It was a widely known secret that Samunika had been crushing on the young teen lion for moons. He was only a few moons older than them, and, on the other paw, barely knew she existed.

"That-that's not a truth! You're _making_ me do something! Not asking me a question!" Samunika sputtered.

"Oh, but it is. You see, I'm making you admit the TRUTH!" Musan grinned. Nyota blinked. That, actually was true.

Samunika looked helpless for a moment. Nyota could practically see Samunika's brain twisting and turning, trying to find another excuse. Finally, she looked defeated. She whispered something inaudible.

"What was that, Loonyka?" Musan taunted. She turned red and whispered louder.

"I didn't hear you!" He smirked. Finally, losing her patience, Samunika screamed.

"I THINK JADON IS HOT!" When she realized how loud she'd been, Samunika clamped her paws over her mouth. Even Nyota had to laugh.

"Say it louder Samunika, I don't think the entire pride heard you." Nyota chuckled.

Samunika blushed beet red and angrily shouted at Musan.

"Well, now it's _your_ turn, bozo," This time it was Samunika who smirked. Musan just looked stony, but Nyota knew him well enough to tell that he was terrified.

"Truth or dare Musan?" Samunika asked. Musan hesitated for a second before answering.

"Dare. I'm not a baby like _some_ people." Samunika rubbed her chin, deep in thought, thinking of the perfect dare, making the fur on her chin curl downward like a beard. Her eyes lit up when she had an idea.

"I dare _you_ to go and tell Dad that you want him to tell you the story of how he met mom because you feel like you are dealing with the same problems he was facing," Samunika said, a smirk lighting up her face. Nyota snickered. Imagine how Kovu would look if his son told him he had fallen in love with someone, and was battling with his emotions!

It seemed that Musan had the same realization, for the skin underneath his fur turned a light shade of pink. He turned away before anyone could see his expression though. Nyota just smiled. She had just witnessed Musan showing emotion.

"What? I can't do that? Dad will never see me the same way again! I'm a cub, for crying out loud!" Musan said, his eyes fearful. Samunika just smiled.

"Oh come on, Musan! Are you going to chicken out?"

Musan's face looked stony again. Nyota knew that Musan had a lot of pride. Chickening out would mean he'd lose all that pride. So she was not surprised what he started stomping toward Pride Rock.

Samunika followed him giddily, while Nyota hesitated. She didn't exactly want to go back to Pride Rock.

"C'mon Nyota, if you don't hurry up, I'm turning Musan's dare back on you!" Samunika yelled from in front of her.

"Hey! That's not in the rules!" Nyota shouted, nonetheless following Samunika.

"Let's go through the back," She suggested. "It's much easier." In reality, she didn't want to go through the front of Pride Rock because she was afraid that her father, or anyone else for that matter might be there.

As they climbed through the back den entrance, they were intercepted, by nevertheless, Kovu.

"Hey dad!" Samunika said joyously. Kovu smiled when he saw them, although, when his eyes glanced over at Nyota, they were filled with pity. He must've heard what had happened, Luckily, Kovu had the smarts as to not say anything.

"What are you guys up to today?" He asked. Nyota knew him too well and knew that he probably had something important and kingly to do, but he was trying his best to be a good father and make time for his cubs.

"Well..." Musan started. Samunika frowned when he did not continue. She coughed an _ahem_.

Musan looked at his sister and sighed before speaking.

"Dad, what do you do when you think you love a lioness, but you can never figure out what you're supposed to do about you're feeling because you've been taught in a better way and you always feel like you're betraying your family whenever you're with her because your family taught you differently, but in truth, you think the lioness you love makes you a better person and you don't know exactly what to do?" he rambled, not pausing to take a single breath.

Kovu looked confused for a moment.

"Well, then I guess you do whatever your heart tells you to. Of course, with the consent of your parents." Kovu answered. Then, he looked worried. "Why do you ask Musan? Are you going through some kind of trauma as you suggested?"

Nyota stop giggling as Musan turned a fiery red.

"Well-um..." he said intelligently, looking at the ground. Kovu looked genuinely worried.

"Come son, let me tell a story," Kovu said, no doubt mentioning the time when he had fallen in love with Kiara. Musan looked worried, and Samunika looked crazily happy. Nyota sighed. He'd told her the story many times.

Whenever she was feeling sad, he'd make her feel a little bit better with his story, showing her that no matter how bad things got, there was always hope.

As Kovu began to tell his story, Nyota wondered. Kovu had practically been a father figure to her, even though he was her brother-in-law. In fact, whenever something went wrong or she just needed someone to talk to, she'd always go to Kiara or Kovu.

She never went to her mother or father. Nyota sighed. Maybe she just wasn't a good enough daughter.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note #2: If any of you are confused, the "teachings" Nyota talks about are kind of messed up teachings taught by her father. And again, hope you liked it, and please review!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4: Scarred for Life

**Author's Note: Just enough time for a quick update. Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

><p><em>The sun was up. The elephants were tooting. And three shadows were positioned sternly at the summit of Pride Rock.<em>

"_And as you can optically discern the lands stretch out for miles a fore us, and I'll have you address, that every acre of land in the Pride Lands are approximately immaculate and well taken care of." Zazu paused to take a breath. "Any questions?" Zazu asked. Samunika's eyes widened in confusion._

"_Yeah, I do." Musan said, his voice taking on a snarky note. "Was I supposed to understand you or are we going to play the pronoun game?"_

_Samunika snickered, but then abruptly stopped. Her brother had become increasingly grumpy after the time she had spotted hyenas in the fields by Pride Rock. It was like he was possessed by a grumpy alien and was forced to obey its every grumpy command. _

_She noticed her brother staring at her in disgust. She stuck her tongue back out at him. What was his problem? _

_Anyways, back to training. _

"_Hmph!" Zazu sniffed, flapping his wings in Musan's face. _

"_As I was saying, the lands of Pride Rock are marvelously taken care of, we have Master Simba to thank for that. And much later than sooner, we still have to go through Kovu and Kiara's reign, you, Samunika will ascend the throne, and will take care of these lands." _

_Musna flashed him an irritated look. _

"_You too, Master Musan," Zazu corrected hurriedly. _

"_I must say though, Master Musan, you're not acting much of yourself these days. Is something bothering you? Does this have to do with that little talk you had with your father a few days ago?"_

_This time Samunika laughed heartily._

_Kovu had given Musan a long speech after Musan told him about his 'feelings of doubt and denial' during their Truth or Dare game. What had started out as an innocent dare had turned into a long, unintentional Musan shaming event._

_This time Musan's glare was borderline scary. _

"_No, it does not, and if you had half the sense you give yourself credit for, you would shut up and mind your own business," Musan griped, a little too quickly to sound truthful. _

_Samunika smirked. It wasn't everyday her brother wasn't overly confident and casual, not caring about what others thought about him. She flicked his ever-growing mini mohawk of a dark brown mane over his eyes with her tail. _

_Normally, he'd smile at the gesture, maybe even laugh in that weird way of his, but this time, his face remained stony and his eyes glowered. Just as quickly as she flicked his mane out of place, he straightened it back again, muttering things under his breath. _

_Samunika felt slightly taken aback by her brother's reaction. It wasn't abnormal for him to be in a mood, especially when he was embarrassed, but never like this._

"_What is your problem?" Samunika growled. This wasn't the way he was supposed to speak to Zazu. "That's not how you should talk to Zazu!"_

"_Might I say, princess, that being fourth in line for the throne, it guarantees him more power over me-" Zazu started. Samunika cut him off with her 'death stare'. It shut him up pretty quickly. Wait-why was he laughing? _

"_Why shouldn't I?" Musan retorted, bursting her out of her thoughts. She thought for a moment. With a majordomo like Zazu, which way _were _you supposed to talk? Then again, Zazu was being nice! Musan was just acting like a big bully and a baby. Mostly the baby part. _

"_Respectfully!" Samunika shouted. "Or with more respect at least! He's older than you! And besides, he's going to be your majordomo one day!"_

_Musan stopped for a moment and sat very, very still._

"_Not if he's dead." _

_Zazu squawked in fear and very abruptly flew away, probably to tell Simba or her father or someone else important that Musan had threatened to kill him. Well, as much as a cub could._

_Samunika couldn't believe what she was hearing. A cub, a small, insignificant cub was threatening to _kill _Zazu? Even Samunika wouldn't dare to go as far. _

"_I mean, I don't think he has kids or anything, so if he did die, we'd be free of majordomos, for your reign, mom and dad's reign, and most importantly, __**mine**__!. Perfect planning!" He smirked. _

"_Shut up Musan! Don't make this some kind of convoluted plot to kill an innocent hornbill!" She stopped for a second. Wait-was she defending Zazu?_

"_It wouldn't be convoluted-just well thought out. Look, first we lure Zazu into the Outlands-or maybe the Elephant's Graveyard. We'll make him think he's doing something for Simba, but we actually team up with the hyenas and kill him then. It's genius! And a total frame-up! Everyone will think the hyenas did it, and we'll get away scot-free!"_

_Samunika, out of anger, rashly took a swipe at him. Usually, whenever she took a swipe at him, she did it with her claws tucked in. This time, without thinking, Samunika raked her claws across his cheek. _

_Musan snarled as four bloody lines began to form on his cheek. He looked stunned for a second. All of a sudden, his eyes filled with anger and he pounced on Samunika, grabbing hold of her side. She yelped as she was brought hard down on the stone, and her skull felt like it was bleeding. _

_Samunika kicked him off her belly, but he jumped back, securely gripping her and pinning her down. He raised his paws, his unnaturally long claws extended, centimeters from her face. Suddenly, realization dawned on Samunika. What was she doing?_

"_We-we shouldn't be doing this," she gasped. She was half-scared at the thought that Musan might actually hurt her and half-worried that she had gone too far. Musan stayed on top of her for a moment longer, before stepping off, his claws finally tucked into his fur._

_Samunika couldn't bear to look at him. The four scratches on his cheek were deep, and were still bleeding, dying Musan's rusty golden fur a undeniably gruesome chartreuse._

"_What have you done?" Musan retorted, his face twisting in pain. _

_Samunika instantly felt remorse. This wasn't how brothers and sisters were supposed to act._

"_Here-let me help you," Samunika offered. Musan scooted away from her. Well _that _wasn't awkward._

"_Leave-leave me alone. I think you're done helping," Musan said bitterly. He hobbled down Pride Rock, one paw covering his face. _

She hadn't seen him since. Not that she had tried looking. She figured, if Musan didn't want to be found, she wasn't going to look for him. Then again, maybe he _wanted_ to be looked for, but no one was.

Samunika rolled her eyes to no one in particular. Boys, especially if they're your brothers could be incredibly confusing.

"Hey princess," a raspy voice called out. Samunika turned around and came face to face with the most beautiful lion she'd ever seen. He was long and lanky, with an Outlander dark blond coat and muzzle. He had the makings of a rusty, cinnamon colored mane, and had the most intriguing turquoise eyes.

Apart, they sounded mismatched, but when all the parts came together, you were blessed with a _really_ good looking lion.

"Hey-hey Jadon," Samunika stammered. She huffed to herself. Since when had she started stammering? That seemed like such a cub thing to do.

"I think you can see the sunset better from up here," he called, sauntering up to a higher part of Pride Rock. Samunika just sat confused. Sunset? Had she really been sitting here, lost in her thoughts until _sunset?_

Suddenly, a much happier thought clambered into her mind. Was Jadon asking _her_ to watch the sun set with him? He must have, right? Otherwise he'd never have made the offer. Then again, did he even make an offer?

Either way, she couldn't have been more pleased. Trying not to look _too_ excited, Samunika leaped up the rocks next to him. Not too far to be considered unfriendly, and not too close to be uncomfortable.

"So...what's up?" she asked, in attempt to be chatty.

"Huh?" Jadon asked, as if just realizing she'd been there. "Oh, nothing. The usual."

Samunika's heart plummeted. So he hadn't asked her to watch the sunset with him. She shook her head to relieve herself of these thoughts. After all, she was an older cub, and Jadon was a younger teen. Surely they had nothing in common, right?

"So..." he asked, clearly uncomfortable. "Whatcha been up to?"

Samunika felt slightly taken aback. Usually, when common members of the pride addressed royals that they weren't particularly friendly with, with fancy words she didn't exactly understand and eloquent speeches.

It was kind of refreshing, actually to hang out with someone who wasn't related to her, and didn't have the same expectations as her. Speaking of relatives, where was Nyota?

Samunika decided to ask Jadon, since clearly this conversation wasn't going anywhere.

"Hey Jadon, do you know where Nyota-" she cut herself off abruptly, when she realized she hadn't answered his question.

"I'm sorry-I didn't mean to interrupt or anything!" She flustered. Jadon just smiled charmingly, and winked.

"Don't worry, I get that alot. Musan does it all the time." He said. "Did you guys know you both stammer? Like, a lot?" Samunika sat up straight.

"You know where Musan is?" she asked hurriedly. Maybe she could go and apologize.

"Yeah, I just was hanging out with him. He came to me practically in tears because someone, he wouldn't say who, had mauled off the fur on his cheek," Jadon said laughing a little.

Huh. She didn't know Musan and Jadon were friends. Then, again, that must have been why Musan was so distant lately. He had other friends. She felt slightly offended.

"So do you know where he is?" Samunika questioned.

"Yeah, and Nyota too,"

Samunika grimaced a little at the wink he gave her. No, he didn't _like_ Nyota, did he? No, no, that wasn't fair, Nyota already had a perfect life! She looked as Jadon turned to leave. Darn. She'd gotten distracted.

"Jadon, wait!" He paused, mid-step. "Will you tell me where Musan is?"

This time he turned toward her and smirked.

"No can do, princess, I'm sworn to secrecy. Especially from you." Samunika felt slightly hurt.

"Why especially from me?" she asked, fiercely.

"You're the one who started this mess, princess, it's your turn to finish it," He said darkly, turning to leave.

"And besides, this is _obviously_ just sibling rivalry. There's _no_ way I'm getting in the way of _that_." Jadon smirked as he padded off.

Could he be any more cryptic?

And besides, what did he mean, _she_ started this mess? Besides accidentally scraping the fur off Musan's face, she hadn't done anything wrong. Had she?

"Hmph." She muttered, although no one heard her.

Things were not looking up today.

This was not how she expected Jadon to act toward her. He was supposed to be respectful and kind, and preferably _crushing_ on her. Not moody and slightly mean. Maybe this was how he always was? It wasn't like Samunika had ever _hung out_ hung out with him.

But what was she to do now? It wasn't like Jadon had told her where Nyota was, and now she knew her brother did not want to be found, and oddly enough, especially by her.

Samunika decided to turn in for the night. It was getting dark and the sky had turned a bruised-looking purpley-blue. She scampered down the back of Pride Rock, taking the perilous turns that twined downward as she entered the royal den.

She looked around. Only a few lionesses had taken their places to sleep, and most of them who had come were gossiping about the day's happenings.

Samunika yawned. She felt oddly tired. Nothing physically tiring had happened today. Maybe she was emotionally drained.

"Going to take a nap, princess?" An older lioness called out. Samunika was slightly peeved that _some_ people still thought she needed a nap, but answered as cheerfully as she could.

"Nope, just turning in early for the night," She sauntered to her usual sleeping spot, which was usually next to her mother and father. And her brother, of course.

_Musan's just being a baby. He'll be fine tomorrow morning._ Samunika thought sleepily.

But a little voice in the back of her head told her that he would not. Samunika ignored it.

_He'd better be_.

* * *

><p>Musan sat on the lone rock by the waterhole, thinking. <em>What the heck did Samunika think she was doing<em>? He rubbed the four lines running down his cheek. When he removed his paw, there were still faint traces of blood.

He snarled at his bloody paw. It was an everlasting reminder of what his sister had done to him.

_Fine_, he admitted to himself. He wasn't completely without fault. Musan knew he was pushing his sister's buttons when he threatened Zazu. But that was what he lived to do. Annoy his sister. And besides, it was only a joke. King's knew he wouldn't actually team up with hyenas. If there was a nicer way to remove Zazu, he would do it.

But he didn't know Samunika would react to the joke by _striking _him. His sister was usually docile, annoying, nosey, and slightly rude. Oh, and _really_ spacey. Even more so than usual.

He even suspected that she wasn't paying attention to a single thing Zazu had said during their little royal lesson. Of course, he heard everything Zazu said, but he certainly didn't listen to him. That was his thing.

And no, he wasn't being grumpy during their lesson because his sister and Nyota had _humiliated_ him in front of his dad and practically _tore his not-caring reputation away from him_.

Nope, no siree, he didn't care, Musan reminded himself. It was just that, his father practically saw him in a new light. A rebellious, embarrassing and older light. What a nightmare.

Musan rolled himself off the rock and onto his stomach. He plopped his head on his paws and stared at his reflection in the waterhole.

It was no longer perfect. On his usually flawless face were four, unruly scars, ones he knew would never completely disappear. They would always be a reminder to him of what Samunika had done. They would always be there-

"Whoa. What happened to _you_?" a voice called out from behind him. Musan jumped, just barely.

"Why do you always sneak up on people like that?" Musan grumbled. Jadon smirked and slithered next to him.

"It's more fun to see people jump," he grinned. "Especially someone who thinks he's the king of cool."

Musan rarely knew what to expect from Jadon. Sometimes he was your friend, not that he needed any, he already had lionesses crawling all over him, and sometimes he was unfriendlier than a zebra in a meerkat tea party.

"What do you want Jadon?" Musan sighed.

"Well, I want a zebra for dinner, perhaps maybe a gazelle, I hear those are much more easy on the jaws. Oh! I've also always wanted to try a wildebeest-"

"I meant from _me," _said Musan, exasperatedly. Jadon just smirked.

"I wanna know what's wrong with your pretty boy face. Did you get in a claw fight with a meerkat?"

"Don't you say anything about my face, _pretty boy_." Musan retorted. "And besides, meerkats don't have claws."

"I _know_. Only you would get mauled by a meerkat," Jadon's smirk grew, then faltered. "But seriously though, what happened? You look like you got in a fight with a water buffalo."

Musan's stomach clenched in anger. Since when did Jadon actually care about him? Nobody was supposed to care about him. Samunika must have sent him. Maybe this was her incredibly lame way of apologizing.

"Why do you care?" Musan snapped.

Jadon face went through an array of emotions. First, he looked offended , then embarrassed, hurt, and lastly, his emotions were masked with indifference.

"I don't." Jadon barked. Musan stared at him in confusion. _What a strange lion_. When Jadon saw Musan staring at him, he added to his reasonings.

"I was just wondering...that's all."

Musan scoffed. There was no way he was telling high-and-mighty _Jadon_ his problems.

"Don't give me that attitude Musan. I just want to know what happened." Jadon replied, cooly.

Musan sighed. Should he tell Jadon? It couldn't hurt, could it?

"Well I-I..." Musan stammered. He scowled. This was _not_ how an uncaring, princely lion cub was supposed to act. They weren't supposed to stammer.

"I...just got into a fight with someone," He finished quickly, deciding to spare the details.

Jadon raised an eyebrow.

"With _who_? A meerkat or your sister?" Jadon scoffed. "They both swipe the same to me,"

Musan sighed. To him and the other lions, it was no secret that Jadon really didn't have any interest in Samunika. He thought she was slightly wimpy, and not at all pretty. That wasn't supposed to bother him, he didn't care, but for some reason, it did.

"She likes you, you know."

"I _know_. But where's the fun in that? Lionesses who play hard to get are _way _more fun." Jadon turned his gaze over to a field always, where Nyota sat, in deep conversation, it seemed, with Zazu. "Lionesses like _her_." He drooled.

Musan rolled his eyes. What an idiot. _The idiot_ turned his gaze away from Nyota and back to Musan.

"Anyways, pray tell, _who_ did you fight with?"

Musan sighed. Being acquaintances with a nosy lion was no easy task.

"You can't tell anyone."

"I _won't_." This time Jadon rolled his eyes, "Maybe."

"Well...me and Samunika kind of had a fight." Musan said, his voice turning steely, yet his posture, unsure.

Jadon raised his eyebrows so high they looked as if they'd jump off his forehead.

"Whoa. Why?" Jadon asked, genuinely curious. Musan took his curiosity as a good sign.

"Well, I kind of threatened to kill Zazu, but I was only joking and-"

"Whoa! You threatened to _kill_ Banana Beak? Even _I _wouldn't dare go as far." Jadon asked, although he snickered as he finished.

Musan grinded his teeth. How many times was he going to have to tell him?

"I _told_ you. It was a joke! I didn't know she'd take it seriously!"

Jadon laughed, as he heard the desperation in Musan's voice. Musan frowned to himself. Why was he trying to convince Jadon? He was telling the truth. He had nothing to prove.

"Wait-wait. Let me get this straight-" Jadon gasped, between laughs. "You _threatened_ to kill Banana Beak, your sister got mad, and you just _let_ her strike you?"

Angry and fangs naked, Musan viciously snapped at Jadon, who, as the bigger lion, dodged with ease.

"Whoa, better watch out there. You might _bite _me with those incredibly sharp teeth you have there," Jadon laughed.

"Will. You. Shut. UP!?" Musan snarled. He took a deep breath. More calmly, he tried to speak again. "And no, I didn't let her strike me. I totally fought back. She just caught me off guard, that's all."

Even Musan didn't know if half of that was true. It all happened so fast, he couldn't remember.

Jadon winked. "Whatever makes you feel better."

Great. Now Jadon thought he couldn't hold his own against his sister.

Things were _not_ looking up today.

"Now will you leave me alone?" Musan barked, his pride even more wounded. Besides, he was already bored with this conversation.

"Yeah, I think I'll go bother Nyota, maybe Samunika. Or both. Let's see who plays hard to get _this_ time!" Jadon cheered, heading off in the general direction of Nyota. Musan suddenly remembered something.

"Jadon?" He called to Jadon's retreating figure. Jadon stopped for a moment.

"What?"

"Don't tell anyone where I am,"

Jadon snickered, flicked his tail back and did not answer.


	5. Chapter 5: Forgiveness and Prophecies

**Author's Note: It's a snow day in the Windy City and that means no school! And that means: new update! Yep, I was planning to do an update much earlier but school got in the way. Sheesh, they say 7th grade is the hard year in middle school, but sometimes it feels like 8th grade is a heck lot harder. Also, thanks to those of you who reviewed, and the answers to your questions will be on the bottom. Anyways, please review and I hope you like this chapter! Thanks!**

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><p>Musan shot up from his sleep as quickly as he went into it, started by the noise. Groggily, he surveyed his surroundings.<p>

Yep. He was still in the same royal den he usually slept in, next to his sister and his parents. He was still wedged between his mother's paws and squished next to his sister.

But what was the noise that awoke him? Musan stood apprehensively, straining his ears to catch the faintest of sounds. He heard nothing.

Fully awake, he stepped out of the den, tiptoeing past sleeping lionesses, being careful so not to step on any protruding tails. Fully free from the confines of the den, Musan raced out to the peak of Pride Rock, surprised to see that it was still dark.

The black sky was the color of an onyx and as smooth and rich as velvet. Musan shook his head. He didn't know it was possible to have as cheesy and descriptive thoughts as those.

Musan sighed. For the first time, he realized how much he liked the nighttime. No one was here to reprimand him, or watch him or yell at him or interrupt his thoughts. In the dead of the night, while others slept, he was free to do as he liked.

Freedom. What a concept. He breathed in the cool nighttime air and sighed. For once, he didn't have to worry about the scars his sister had given him the day before, or dodge his parents' worried questions or ignore Nyota and Jadon's constant doting.

Musan felt a strange sensation come over him. Was-was that a feeling? Was he feeling...content? Happy, even? Was this how commoners felt when they realized they had no responsibilities? Was this how his grandfather felt when he lived the lifestyle of Hakuna Matata? Was this even, the feeling his father felt when he finally was able to marry Kiara? If so, then Musan understood why people yearned to feel happy. It was bliss. Pure bliss. He closed his eyes, as if to suck up the moment and remember it forever.

Suddenly, he heard talking. Musan grumbled at his forlorn attempt at happiness and at the interruption.

Who could possibly have anything to say at a time like this? In the middle of the night? He stomped grumpily back to the den, as if to re-earn back his sleep.

In his commute to the den, he stopped. He heard someone mention his name. Those voices? Were the talking about _him_?

Musan sauntered to the side of Pride Rock, as that was where he assumed the voices were coming from, and hid behind a rock. Eavesdropping. The perfect plan.

"But you said to not pay attention to her-"

"Did I say you could yell at her?"

There was silence for a second. Musan fidgeted to get a better hearing position. He recognized the first voice as his grandfather, Simba. But the sound voice? It sounded delirious and had a thick, African accent. It also hooted and hollered a lot. Musan's first thought was hyenas, but he knew his grandfather knew better than to be conversing with _hyenas_.

The first voice picked up again.

"Well...no, Rafiki but-"

"Did I tell you that you should scream at your daughters, and threaten Kiara?"

"Rafiki, you know it wasn't like that-"

"What was it like then? Sure, sure, she went into the Elephant's Graveyard without permission, but so did you. And your father, and his mother, and her father and-"

"I think I get the picture."

"Anyways-it's practically tradition Prideland royalty go into the Outlands or Elephant's Graveyard-"

"But she could've been hurt!"

"Yes, and when you were young, so could you. And besides, that wasn't the reason you yelled at her."

"Oh?"

"You hurt her Simba. Everyday of your life you are too busy for her. That was not so for Kiara."

"But it's because of the prophecy! I-"

"Prophecies come and go Simba, but only a great king can discern which will come true."

"How come you seem to know more about my children than even I do?"

"Because Simba, you spend too much time trying to be a great _king_, and therefore you are a lousy father."

"I have to be a good king Rafiki, family comes second."

There was a pause. What were they talking about? Was this about Nyota? Musan couldn't understand what was going on.

"Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Simba. Family is just as important as your kingdom."

"Yes, but-"

"Simba, you have everything Nyota wishes for."

There was a pause. And then:

"She has a father. I don't."

"With an attitude like that, neither does she."

Musan heard footsteps as someone walked away.

"Rafiki! Don't you dare turn your back on me." Simba did not raise his voice, but the ice in his tone froze the blood in Musan's veins.

There was a pause in the footfalls as Musan heard 'Rafiki's' hollow laugh.

"Only four can stand Simba, but just maybe, five will reign."

Then, there was silence.

And then, Musan ran. He did not run in the direction of the den, but out into the grasslands, out by the waterhole. He ran farther than he ever could have, and did not fall only because of the severe rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

What was it that he'd just heard? What was it Simba was talking about? Surely, they must be talking about Nyota, Simba was only icy toward her.

Musan sat at the edge of the waterhole, confused. Surely, he had to tell Nyota what he had heard. He sat erect at his thought. Why should he tell her? Why did he care? What she didn't know couldn't hurt her right?

Musan sighed sadly at his resolve. Maybe he did care, maybe he did worry about someone other than himself. A little. He'd have to tell Nyota of what he'd heard.

And with that, he sauntered slowly back to Pride Rock. As he rounded the bend to the den, he bumped into another figure, and clattered to the ground. He quickly got back to his feet, and stood up defensively. A voice echoed through the night.

"What are you doing here Musan? You should be sleeping." Samunika purred.

"I could say the same to you," He shot back, venom seeping into his words. He thought he'd been the only one out. Why was Samunika out?

Samunika looked embarrassed. Musan smirked. She'd been caught. His smirk faltered as he realized so had he. It was practically an unwritten rule that no cub was allowed out of the den past dark. Or even past sunset. Grievances for doing so were to be dire. Simba's words verbatim.

"I-I went out for a drink." Samunika stammered. Musan rolled his eyes. She had _not_ been going for a drink. He was just at the waterhole.

"No you didn't."

Samunika's eyes narrowed.

"How would you know?" Samunika snapped. Musan felt himself flush. And now he'd just admitted that he had been roaming around in the Pride Lands. There was an even more dire punishment for cubs who left the den and went into the lands after dark.

Musan sighed. Maybe he'd just have to admit to his sister what he had heard. He didn't like the idea, he was still at odds with Samunika ever since she had struck him, and he didn't hang out with her as often, but it would be easier than telling Nyota. Or so he thought.

"Okay Samunika. Let's put aside our differences and talk things out." Musan said, hating the way his voice sounded. It sounded weak and cushioned, not the way he had been perfecting it to sound all his life.

Even Samunika wrinkled her nose when he started talking.

"You sound like Dad does when he's trying to be a perfect father and impress Simba," She smirked. "Only a thousand times more suck-uppier."

She stopped smiling and attempted to be serious.

"But yeah, I get what you're saying. I'm sorry I scratched you."

Musan touched the tender mauled skin on his cheek and winced. He could forgive Samunika, but he could never forget. His scars would remind always remind him of that.

Then, he begrudgingly said the words he'd spent all his life trying not to say.

"I forgive you."

Samunika's eyes lit up and she smiled. Musan could practically see the humongous weight being lifted off her shoulders when he forgave, and that gave him a strange sort of joy. Maybe forgiveness wasn't so bad after all.

"Now, what was it that you were doing?" Samunika flustered, she looked embarrassed.

Musan sighed. It was now or never. Probably not never, more like next week.

"I-I..." He started. When he stopped, Samunika lightly smacked his paw and glared at him with her 'death stare'. Musan rolled his eyes, but picked up his trail of thought.

"Well, I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard a noise." He frowned when he saw Samunika's eyebrows raise. "No, I was not _afraid_, just startled." Samunika snickered.

"Anyway, I went around the bend of Pride Rock, and I heard voices. I recognized one as Simba, and the other dude Simba called 'Rafiki'. He had a weird accent and was always howling with laughter and-"

"Get to the point Musan."

Musan blushed and cleared his throat. What was he doing, rambling on?

"So I heard them talking about someone getting hurt by Simba and someone not having a father and-"

"Everyone has a father."

He glared irritatedly at Samunika. This time it was she who blushed.

"Sorry." She said meekly. "Carry on."

He rolled his eyes and 'carried on'.

"_As_ I was saying, I think the whole 'not having a father' thing was metaphorical and stuff, and there were some things said about a prophecy and-and that was all I really heard."

Samunika pondered his words for a while, thinking.

"You really think it has something to do with Nyota?" She asked. Musan's eyebrows rose up on his head. He swore, sometime Samunika could read his mind.

"I-yeah, I think it does." He stuttered.

This time Samunika raised an eyebrow.

"And you don't care, right?" She stated, although Musan knew it was a question. A test. A chance to show that maybe he did care about something after all. And this time, Musan was ready.

"Yes. I think I do." He said bluntly, although inside he was awkwardly ashamed of the words.

Samunika's face broke into a smile, her face erupting into a mask of happiness. And for some reason, all his ashamedness floated away.

"That's the Musan we've been wanting to hear!" She knocked her forehead lightly into his. "Welcome back, brother."

Musan smiled, and for the second time that night, was happy with who he was. After a moment, he pulled his forehead from his sister's and asked the dreaded question.

"Do you think we should Nyota?"

Samunika's grin faltered, as she too thought upon the question. When she'd finished thinking, her eyes were hardened with resolve.

"No, not until I think she's ready to hear it."

"_You_ think?" Musan scoffed. "What about what _I _think?"

Samunika politely batted away the question, quite literally with her paw.

"We'll argue about that later Musan Right now, I think we'd better find out more about what Simba is doing."

"He's sleeping." Musan said flatly. "Like every other lion in the Pride Lands. Just like we should be doing right now." He added a fake yawn in for good measure. Suddenly, his tail stood up straight in the air. He smirked to himself, his eyes filled with crafty intent. He'd forgotten to ask Samunika what _she'd _ been doing out of the den. She'd interrogated him, now it was _her_ turn.

"By the way, what were _you_ doing outside the den Saloonyka?"

Samunika flushed deep red.

"I-I-nothing!" She flustered, far too quickly to sound truthful. Musan smirked. This was perfectly priceless.

"Oh okay." He said pretending to pad toward the den. "So you _weren't_ going to go see Jadon sleeping outside?"

Samunika let out a nervous squeak, and if it was possibly turned an even deeper shade of red under her fur.

"NO!"

Musan snickered. He'd had no idea if this was true, but Samunika just confirmed his suspicions.

"That's slightly creepy you know, watching someone sleep." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder what Jason would think if I told him."

Samunika giggled nervously.

"You won't tell him, will you? Please say you won't!" she cried.

Musan just laughed, stepping back to the den.

"I make no promises."

He walked through the entrance, being ever so quiet. He gulped, every step he made sounded like an angry elephant trumpeting in the silence.

"That's the same attitude that got you clawed in the face!" Samunika pouted, walking behind him. Musan gasped and stopped in realization. Though Samunika had meant it as a joke, her words held a dark meaning.

Because he stopped, Samunika plowed into him, and he was pushed over, somersaulting above lionesses and straight atop his father's head. Kovu roared in surprise and looked around for whatever had woken him. As lionesses groaned for the unintended awakening, Musan meekly bowed his head from his father's head down to where Kovu could see his face. Kovu looked confused for a moment, and then his eyebrows formed a stern "V".

"Musan?" He asked.

"Good morning dad?" was Musan's sheepish reply.

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><p><strong>Author's Note #2: Alrighty, reviewer-asks-question-I-try-to-answer-them-emphasis-on-try time! (And yes, I came up with the title myself, isn't it very original?)<strong>

**Leslie Morris:**

**Sorry, I had to filter out some of your words in the questions. Anyway, I'm really glad you're enjoying my sory, and I'm happy to answer any of your questions, starting now:**

**1.) Why is Simba so rude to Nyota? **

**Answer: You'll have to wait and see!**

**2.) Can you give a description of how the characters look like?**

**Answer: Sure, here you go:**

**-**_ Samunika_**: She has a tawny coat, and basically looks a lot like Vitani, although her voice is not as gruff and is a lot more sweet. **

**- **_Nyota_**: Nyota looks a lot like Kiara, although she is paler like her mother and she has Scar-green eyes.**

**- **_Musan_**: Musan basically a gold-furred version of Kovu, with a brown mini-mane mohawk and all.**

**- **_Jadon_**: He has Outlander blond fur and a a growing cinnamon colored mane. **

**Sorry, I didn't add very many details, more detailed descriptions are sure to come when I have more time. **

**3.) How do you pronounce their names? **

**Answer: Feel free to pronounce them any way you want, but my original intentions were to have them pronounced like this:**

**- **_Samunika_**:**** (sa-moo-nih-ka)**

**- **_Nyota_**:**** (nuh-yo-tah) OR (n-yo-ta)**

**- **_Musan_**: (moo-sahn)**

**- **_Jadon_**: (jay-don)**

**4.) Yeah, I kind of did mess up the lineage, but for good reason, and you'll find out why later in the story, but here it is as of now:**

**- **_Simba and Nala_**:**** (1)**

**- **_Kiara and Kovu_**:**** (2)**

**- **_Samunika and__ ?_**:**** (3)**

**- **_Musan and ?_**:**** (4)**

**- **_Nyota and ?_**:**** (5)**

**And so on and so-forth. **

**AzHotAzPossiibl: **

**Thanks! It really means a lot when people actually like my story!**

**1.) Is the whole Samunika seeing hyenas a really big part in the story?**

**Answer: You'll have to wait and see! -insert evil author laugh-**

**2.) Why is Simba and Nala acting weird?**

**Answer: Again, you'll have to wait and see! -insert another evil author laugh-**

**plop:**

**Here you go!**

**And thanks again for all who read and review my story! As always, thanks and please review!**


	6. Chapter 6: Lost and Still Lost

**Author's Note: Hey guys, one week has gone by and I have finally updated! Well, today I haven't got enough time for a full-out Author's Note rant, so I'll just grace you with a chapter. I hope you enjoy, and please review, I always enjoy reading them and answering your questions! Thanks!**

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><p>Nyota yawned groggily as the sun's waking rays hit her face. It was morning again. Other than a crude awakening by Musan at dawn (he had jumped on his father's head), the past day had been uneventful.<p>

She trotted to the peak of Pride Rock, her most favorite place to sit and watch the sunrise. The sky was a palette of golds and reds, melding into each other, with a huge saffron orb of a sun in the center.

"You wake up early too?" A voice echoed off the rocks. Nyota turned around abruptly to see Jadon walking toward her. She groaned inwardly. Could she never have a moment's peace? That was a rhetorical question. She plastered on a fake smile as she turned to Jadon, though in her mind it felt more like a grimace.

"Yup." She said plainly. She looked puzzled as she saw where Jadon had come from. "You sleep outside?"

Jadon looked slightly embarrassed as he answered her.

"Well, yeah, it's kind of a rule that all lions that aren't of royal lineage have to sleep outside once their mane starts growing in." He pointed to the mop of cinnamon on the top of his head and that was starting to grow down his chest. This time it was Jadon's turn to look confused. "You're a royal, didn't you know that?"

"No." She grumbled. "It's not like I have anyone to teach me the joys of a royal."

"What? Isn't your father the king?" Jadon asked. "Oh..." His voice trailed off in realization. She and her father did not have the average father-daughter relationship. He cleared his throat. "Well, can't Timon and Pumbaa teach you?"

Nyota shook her head. "It's not like they know the royal laws." She stared at the ground sadly. "And besides, they got a bit bored in the Pridelands, and decided to go off on another adventure. They're bound to return soon."

Jadon looked deep in thought for a while. "Can't Kiara and Kovu teach-"

"They're busy learning the royal laws too," Nyota cut in quickly, not sure exactly why.

"Musan and Samunika?" He asked. Jadon grimaced a bit when he said Samunika's name.

Nyota just stared at him. Really? He was going there?

"Well then," He said smugly. "I guess then _I'll_ have to teach you." Nyota wasn't sure what emotion spread across her face, but she was pretty sure it was shock.

"Y-you?" She stuttered. "But you don't know any of the royal laws!"

Jadon looked peeved for a second. "Of course I do."

Nyota raised an eyebrow.

"Even common lions know royal laws." He said defensively. "No offense." Jadon said when Nyota looked slightly miffed.

She thought for a moment. Was she lower than common lions since she didn't know the royal laws? Was she _lesser_ than what she had always been told? In her mind, she shook her head. No. No. She was a royal. The third born daughter of Simba and Nala, and fifth in line for the throne. Nyota had to be a royal. She _had_ to.

"I-I..." She started. Saying no had been on the tip of her tongue, but when she saw the hurt look on Jadon's face, she surprised herself with what she said.

"I, okay." Nyota said, internally defeated. "You can teach me." She was surprised when Jadon's face lit up with unholy glee as he started bouncing around her, muttering "Yes yes yes! I did it!" under his breath. When Jadon saw her shooting a raised eyebrow look, he smiled gleefully.

"So...when do we start?" She asked, uncomfortably. Jadon looked confused.

"Start what?" He asked, quite intelligently.

Nyota now looked confused. Didn't he just offer to teach her? "Aren't you going to teach me the 'ways of a royal'?"

Jadon relaxed for a moment, before looking uninterested. "Yeah, sure, but maybe later okay?" He yawned. "I have some things that I need to get done."

Nyota just stared at his retreating figure as he sauntered into the den. _What an idiot_. He'd just offered to teach her but now he was leaving? One thing was for sure: Jadon was one strange, strange lion.

She glared at the awakening sun as it rose over the Pridelands. What a morning. What else was in store for her today? Singing warthogs? Hula-dancing meerkats?

"H-hey Nyota." A voice stuttered from behind her. Nyota rolled her eyes. It seemed like egotistical, moody, and apparently meek lion princes were next.

She turned around to face the voice. "Hey Musan," she said nonchalantly.

Nyota stared at Musan squintily. Was Musan...embarrassed? Shy? Timid? His normally golden fur was tinted a blushing red and he looked incredibly nervous.

"I-hey." he paused. Samunika told me not to tell you this but I'm going to tell you anyway and if Samunika finds out she's going to kill me but I feel like you need to know this even though I don't understand it myself but-"

Nypta put paw in front of his mouth to stop him from rambling.

"Tell me what?" she said slowly, her eyebrows raising in amusement. Nyota had never seen Musan in this state before.

He opened his mouth to speak but another voice cut him off.

"Nyota. I think we need to talk."

She cringed as she recognized the voice as her father, Simba. He sounded different, more kind, more nicer, more _loving_? She must be delusional.

Nyota whipped herself around to face her father, her legs trembling in fear. His face was indifferent. She sat, confused, between two lions who both needed her undivided attention.

On one side, she saw Musan, nervous and clearly embarrassed by his state, desperately needing to talk to her for some reason. Musan usually not one to kid around. Something clearly must've been bothering him.

On the other side, she saw her father, stern, demanding and kind. For the first time, her father wanted to talk to _her_, and this time, without seeming angry and provoked. Maybe she could make amends and have a normal relationship with her father. Maybe-

She turned to Musan as she saw his face turn from embarrassment to suspicion as he glared at Simba. What was Musan thinking?

Weighing her opinions, she abruptly turned toward her father. Sadly, whatever Musan had to say could wait, her father had called for her.

Hoping she wouldn't regret her decision, Nyota followed her father, trying her hardest to bury deep within herself the image of Musan's hurt face when she chose her father over him. She shook her head. What was Musan thinking? That she'd really chose him over Simba? Her father meant more to her than any old friendship with Musan. Right?

Her father took her to the promontory of Pride Rock, he was silent the entire way there. Well, _that_ wasn't different at least.

Simba stopped abruptly, and Nyota nearly crashed into him, stopping herself at the very last second. He sat down, and motioned for Nyota to sit next to him, to which she obliged.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a time, watching the sun rise slowly from the ground until it was nearly high in the sky.

It was Simba who broke the silence with his commanding voice, yet at the same time it was sad and _caring_.

"Nyota, now that you are a young teenage lioness I just wanted to say-Nyota I-" He broke off, as if revising the words of his speech in his head. "I know I haven't been spending much time with you, and I hurt you. I realize I spend too much time trying to be a great _king_, and therefore am a lousy father."

Nyota crinkled her nose in disgust. His words sounded rehearsed and pre-thought out, as if someone was conducting the speech in his head. In return, she just stared at him.

Unsatisfied with her answer, he continued. "I-I, just want you to know, no matter what I say out of anger, out of a rage, I don't mean it. Sometimes even _I _don't know what I'm doing."

Nyota was stunned. Something was not right, something was definitely up. She just wish she knew what. Her shock turned to surprise when her father nuzzled her before he left down Pride Rock, leaving her alone, high above the promontory.

For a moment, she just stared at her father's retreating figure. What was he up to? She didn't mind his calm voice, or his kindness or his nuzzle, but she'd personally like to know why he'd done those things. Not that she was complaining, of course not, but why now, why all of a sudden? Maybe that's what Musan wanted to talk to her about. Oh well, it was too late now.

Slightly saddened, Nyota sauntered down Pride Rock's promontory toward the peak. As she arrived, she was surprised to find...no one. Usually during noonday there were lionesses milling about, washing cubs, organizing hunting parties, or gossiping. Today, there was no one, and she was left alone with no one for company but herself and her shadow. Not that she wanted her own shadow for company. It was too quiet and didn't talk enough for her liking.

Bored and flighty, Nyota scampered across the fields in search of a friend. Maybe Samunika wanted to hang out, or maybe Jadon wanted to teach her, or maybe even Musan wanted to talk about that thing earlier. Anything was possible really.

Quickly, she was at the water hole, but even that was empty except for a small assembly of warthogs, baboons and mandrills.

After a quick drink of water, she headed toward the Hadithi Pangos, or the Story Caves. This is where, once a year, all the peaceable prides in this side of Africa gathered to exchange fables of their pasts and reports of their present. She shivered, the annual Hadithi Wakati, or Story Time, was almost coming to pass, in almost six moons, and this year she would be able to attend.

Nyota ambled around the enormous cave, checking every nook and cranny for one of her friends, but to no avail. It was sadly empty.

She sighed as she exited and turned the other direction toward Hunter's Pass, where all the young royal cubs learned to hunt before the official training started.

Hunter's Pass was covered plains upon plains of grass. And the occasional rock. And a baobab tree. Oh, and plains of grass. It was quite a varied landscape.

Nyota doubted anyone would hang out there, considering it was quite dull and useless, save for the hunting practice.

Where was the rest of the pride?

After looking around the entire Pride Lands, Nyota shuffled toward her last resort. She scampered toward the Outlands, seriously doubting anyone would be there. Darkness clouded her figure as she thought she saw something in the distance. Maybe the pride had decided to picnic in the Outlands? Yeah right.

As she drew nearer, she spotted three, crouching figures. Assuming it was Samunika, Musan and Jason, she ran faster toward the silhouettes.

When she arrived, out of breath and weary, Nyota immediately wished she hadn't. There, standing in front of her, were three, cackling, mangy hyenas, their chins slick with sticky drool.

Nyota turned her back quickly to run, but all of a sudden, the three hyenas encircled her, and pinned her tail so she was flopped down and vulnerable, allowing her not to escape. She was trapped.

"Well well well, Benzi, what do we have here?" The female hyena cackled.

The male hyena was quick to answer her.

"I don't know Henna." He smirked and paused to turn around and look at the maniacal hyena behind him. "Fred?"

The crazy hyena just cackled, even more drool dangling out of his mouth as a stupid smile stretched across his face.

Benzi? Fred? Henna? Where had she heard those names before? They were so familiar and so distant at the same time. She shuffled through her memory banks and tried to remember. Her trek through her memories caused her to remember when she had last visited the Outlands, a terrible experience she had vowed to forget, but never was able to.

"_Hey Henna, where'd they go?" _

"_I don't know Benzi, I lost their trail. Now all I smell is disgusting flowers" Then, there was silence. _

"_How'd you know there was someone else with the bird?"_

"'_Cause I smelt them, you idiot. A talent you lack."_

"_Are you sure it was a lion?"_

"_I ain't lion, I'm telling the trut_h."

The hyenas she had outwitted before were the same hyenas who had her trapped right now. She hoped _they_ didn't know that.

"What-what do you want?" She managed to stutter.

The hyenas looked at her with glee.

"We want land princess. Land in the Pride Lands. Our parents foolishly tried to take over the Pride Lands with that maniac Scar, and had us, hyenas in their clan, along with themselves exiled. We were no longer allowed in the Elephant's Graveyard." Henna scoffed.

When Henna didn't continue, Benzi did. "Our clan moved to the Outlands, but we were not welcome there either. Some crazy lioness called Zira chased us out and almost killed us saying that out parents murdered Scar." He smirked. "We didn't deny it."

"We roamed from pride to pride, land to land, in search of a prosperous place to conquer. We found nowhere. Now, we've heard that Zira is dead and the Outland pride has joined in the Pride Lands. What idiots." Henna picked up. Fred cackled when he heard the words 'idiots'.

Nyota just stared. What else was she to do? When she said nothing, Benzi started talking.

"We took up the Outlands, but there is no point in living there. There are nasty termites and not enough water to even satisfy half of our ranks, even if we only gave water to the pups. No; we want Pride Land territory."

"H-how am I supposed to help?" Nyota asked fearfully.

Henna smirked. "You." She pointed at Nyota. "Are going to do nothing but tell your father to give us land. Tell him that if he doesn't, we'll kill you. Imagine that! Simba's precious daughter cold-bloodedly murdered right before his very eyes! How exciting!" Nyota's eyes widened in shock, fear and disappointment. Would her father come to her aid? Maybe after their talk, he would.

Benzi smiled maniacally. "Our parents were foolish for trusting a lion to get what they wanted. They were used by Scar and in the end, that was what destroyed them. But now, our clan is stronger, more cunning and smarter. We will no longer be looked down upon as the last link of the food chain!" His voice boomed as he finished his discourse.

Nyota shook her head to herself sadly. She didn't even _know_ where the rest of the pride was. How would she even track them down, much less ask her stony father to give the hyenas land? Not that she would ever stoop that low, but still! It was hopeless. She wasn't even sure she was 'Simba's precious daughter'.

"So, well whatcha answer?" Benzi asked, his words slurred through his excitement. Henna shot him a dirty look and shoved her paw into his mouth. "Don't talk." she said to him.

Turning toward Nyota, she asked in a menacing tone, the same question.

"What's your answer princess?"

Nyota took a deep breath, knowing that this answer would leave her powerless and vulnerable.

"No." Before she knew it, the hyenas were upon her, battering her and slashing her every which way. She knew every one of their jabs were sure to leave a mark, and she tried to defend herself. It was pointless, and she knew it. Nyota was a strong, young teenage lioness, with Simba's strength and Nala's incredible hunting skills, but she was inexperienced. Why oh why had her mother not allowed her to go on mini hunting lessons with Samunika and Musan? Did she _want _to get her killed?

She discarded the thought almost as quickly as it entered her brain as she battered the hyenas in any way she could. They were bigger than her, and throwing them off presented more than a challenge than she could take. Nyota felt the hot blood drip off of her as the hyenas pummeled her to the ground after striking the side of her head.

As soon as her head hit the ground, her thoughts became muddled and she could no longer see straight. _Were there six hyenas or three? Did they send for reinforcements? _Were her weary thoughts.

"No more. Let her live. Let this be a sign to Simba that if he doesn't give us what we want. this is what will happen to his entire family!" A female hyena's voice cackled. She heard footsteps as the hyenas walked away. _Cowards_ she thought. She sighed and then gasped. Breathing through her cracked ribs was hard work and painful.

Soon, broken and battered, she felt her mind floating into oblivion, unaware of what was going around her, and unable to open her eyes for more than a second.

A moment later, Nyota heard footsteps. Too weak to see if it was friend or foe, she halfheartedly attempted to snarl. The footsteps continued to come closer and closer until she felt the warm breath of someone. She sniffed. It wasn't the scent of someone she knew, they didn't have the warm scent of home.

Nyota knew nothing as she was dragged away, except feeling the scramble of pebbles leaching into her fur as she was brought to a place unknown.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note #2: Thanks again for reading, and please review on what you thoughts on the chapter, and feel free to ask any questions!<strong>


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